Those media exclusives about the Lib Dems aren’t really exclusives

This week we’ve had two “exclusives” in the media about the Liberal Democrats which aren’t quite exclusive… and indeed which readers of this site will have known about for weeks.

First up, the news that Chuka Umunna was a Liberal Democrat member in his youth. The Politics Home “exclusive” as a couple of months off the pace at least:

Second, the New Statesman story about Lib Dem education plans. Again badged as an exclusive:

The Liberal Democrats have unveiled plans to revolutionise lifelong learning in this country, by giving adults in England entitlement to £9,000 over their lifetime to pay for further education or training.

Under the new proposals, every adult in England would receive a Personal Education and Skills Account (PESA), into which the government would make at least three payments of £3,000 over the course of their lifetime.

Again something readers of this site will have read about months ago.

But on balance, if the media is going to cover us, and make its stories sound more exciting by adding ‘exclusive’ to them, perhaps it’s not such a bad outcome…

Mind you, I wonder how long before another public document on the party’s website appears in a story as a secret-sounding document?